The Basic Rules for Clotheslines

THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES OF THE PAST:

1. You had to wash the clothes line before hanging any clothes – walk the entire lengths of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.

2. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang “whites” with “whites,” and hang them first.

3. You never hung a shirt by the shoulders – always by the tail!. What would the neighbors think?

4. Wash day on a Monday! . .. . Never hang clothes on the weekend, for heaven’s sake!

5. Hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you could hide your “unmentionables” in the middle.

6. It didn’t matter if it was sub zero weather … clothes would “freeze-dry.”

7. Always gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on the lines were “tacky!”

8. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next washed item.

9. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket, and ready to be ironed.

10. Fresh sheets on the bed guarantee a good nights rest!

A POEM
A clothesline was a news forecast
To neighbors passing by,
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two.

For then you’d see the “fancy sheets
And towels upon the line;
You’d see the “company table cloths”
With intricate designs.

The line announced a baby’s birth
rom folks who lived inside
As brand new infant clothes were hung,
So carefully with pride!

The ages of the children could
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed,
You’d know how much they’d grown!

It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung.

It also said, “Gone on vacation now”
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, “We’re back!” when full lines sagged
With not an inch to spare!

New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy and gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way .. . .

But clotheslines now are of the past,
For dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody’s guess!

I really miss that way of life.
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best
By what hung out on the line.

The Clothesline Said So Much, by Marilyn K. Walker

EGG RECALL

The eggs infected with salmonella are all produced in Galt, Iowa by Wright County Egg and are sold in retail stores under a number of different brands.

Here's the list of affected brands:

Albertson
Boomsma's
Dutch Farms
Fresh Farms
Hillendale
Kemps
Lucerne
Lund
Mountain Dairy
Ralph's
Shoreland
Sunshine
Trafficanda

Eggs are packed in varying sizes of cartons from 6, 12 to 18 egg cartons with Julian dates
ranging from 136 to 225 and plant numbers 1026, 1413 and 1946.

Dates and codes can be found stamped on the end of the egg carton. The plant number begins with the letter P and then the number. The Julian* date follows the plant number, for example: P-1946 223 The Julian date is the date the eggs were packed.

*Julian date: usually on the short side of the carton, represents the consecutive days of the year with the number 001 as January 1 and December 31 as 365. So if you have P-1946 223
stamped on your egg carton, it means the eggs were packed on August 11th. (223 days from January 1).

Eggs should be stored in their cartons on the middle or lower inside shelf of the refrigerator, not on the door.

Don't Envy Others

Don’t Envy Other Folks

Don’t think when you have troubles,
That your neighbor goes scot-free,
Because he shows a smiling front,
And battles cheerfully.

No, Man! He, too, has troubles,
But herein the difference lies,
While you go idly moping round,
The other fellow tries.

Don’t envy other people;
Maybe, if the truth you knew,
You’d find their burdens heavier far
Than is the case with you.

Because a fellow, rain or shine,
Can show a smiling face,
Don’t think you’d have an easier time
If you could take his place.

‘Tis hope and cheery courage
That incite one to retrieve
One’s past mistakes, to start afresh,
To dare and to achieve.

So smile, and if perchance you light
The spark of hope anew
In some poor sad and burdened heart,
All honor be to you.
-Anonymous